Fundraising reports show Dayton with cash advantage over Johnson

New campaign fundraising numbers show Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton has nearly twice as much cash on hand as his Republican challenger, Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson.

Johnson released a statement announcing he has more than $866,000 in his campaign coffer, after raising more than $1 million since the last report was filed in late July. Johnson says more than $400,000 in donations have come since the start of September.

As the Star Tribune reports, Dayton also raised a little over $1 million since July 22 and has nearly $1.7 million in the bank.

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Each candidate took in money from a state public subsidy that's provided to candidates who agree to abide by spending limits.

In addition to his cash advantage, Dayton has also bankrolled a big chunk of television time, having purchased $1.3 million worth of advertising between now and the Nov. 4 election, MPR says.

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Dayton recently released his first television ad of the campaign. Johnson told the Star Tribune he plans to have one on the air by the end of September.

At his politics.mn blog, Republican activist Michael Brodkorb says he thinks Johnson needed to raise more during this last reporting period. Brodkorb notes that in 2010 Republican candidate Tom Emmer raised $2.8 million on his way to a narrow loss to Dayton and Johnson is on track to come up short of that total.